¡§LASER SURGERY FOR THE SOUL¡¨
Dr. Larry L. Thompson (2002)
John 9:1-11, 35-38 page 758 in the pew Bible
INTRODUCTION
In the book of John there is a scene in which a blind man is given his sight and while all of the miracles recorded in John are glorious, I have chosen this one from John’s Gospel to bring our message into focus today. I have entitled this message,¡§Laser Surgery for the Soul!¡¨ The title actually speaks far beyond Jesus simply restoring the sight to a blind man¡Kit actually gives us a perfect picture of why we have committed these past 19 years to this ministry we call, "The Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant." This text perfectly illustrates how Christ meets the darkness of every human heart and with Divine Laser Accuracy and He is able to remove the spiritual darkness and bring glorious light to every life.
Over the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals who are having ¡§Laser Surgery¡¨ to correct their vision. I had heard about the procedure for the past couple of years but I was always told, ¡§You are probably not within the right age group for a successful surgery.¡¨ I have since discovered they do take people older than 39 and 49¡K I have also discovered that I lived with faulty vision for years because of ignorance of what medicine was now able to accomplish and the actual laser surgery was less than 10 minutes with no pain and everything to gain! I only wish I wouldn¡¦t have waited so long to actually take that step of faith and act on truth rather than what others only speculated was truth.
Of all the handicaps that can curse men and women, blindness must be one of the most difficult. Yet there is something infinitely worse than physical blindness: it is the spiritual blindness of the soul. Indeed, so real and disastrous is this condition that God considered it necessary to send His Son to earth for the express purpose of opening the eyes of the blind and lightening the darkness of men. The Lord Jesus came, not only to open the eyes of a few physically blind men and women, but, primarily and supremely, to turn the darkness of humanity¡¦s sinful heart into the dawn of spiritual light. The manner in which the Savior performs this miracle is illustrated in John 9 and this message should provide you new insight into how you can better witness, minister and even invite your friends without Christ to join you at this year¡¦s pageant with prayerful hope they will leave with the glorious LIGHT of Christ providing an eternal sight they never thought possible.
FOCAL TEXT: JOHN 9:1-11
¡§As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" [3] "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." [6] Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. [7] "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. [8] His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?" [9] Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man." [10] "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded. [11] He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.¡¨
I. HIS EXAMINATION (9:1-3)
¡§As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" [3] "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.¡¨
¡§He saw a man blind from birth¡¨ (John 9:1). In a very real sense, here was a man who was sitting in the darkness of a physical night. This had been his condition from birth; he had never seen the light of day. This story has been divinely preserved in order to teach us and remind us of the fact of our spiritual darkness by nature. As Dr. William Temple simply puts it, ¡§The man ¡¥blind from birth¡¦ is every man.¡¨ No matter how youthful, how beautiful, how intellectual, or how charming you may be, the truth is the moment you were born you were born with spiritual blindness.
1) THE DIAGNOSIS (9:1)
¡§Jesus¡Ksaw a man which was blind from¡Kbirth¡¨ (John 9:1). The word ¡§saw¡¨ means ¡§to intensely perceive mentally.¡¨ In other words, He did not merely give a cursory glance as He passed; He saw something tragic.
Notice the difference in man¡¦s diagnosis and God¡¦s evaluation of the man¡¦s condition. The disciples only glanced at the poor man and remarked, in a judgmental evaluation, that he was receiving the due reward of his sins, or at any rate, that of his parents. But what Jesus saw when he looked at the man was that his blindness was a picture of every man who is born into the world, and had nothing to do with personal or parental sins. Similarly, we have to recognize that the moral, spiritual blindness of the souls of men and women, boys and girls, is not something we can dismiss with an observation, a speculation, an opinion, or even a disagreement. It is a tragic fact. EVERY FAMILY MEMBER WE HAVE, EVERY FRIEND WE HAVE, EVERY WORK ASSOCIATE WE HAVE¡KWE ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON, WE WERE BORN WITH SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. Paul reminds us, ¡§For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.¡¨
2) THE DESCRIPTION (9:8)
¡§His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?¡¨
After his eyes were opened, his neighbors asked, ¡§Is not this he that sat and begged?¡¨ A fifth of the world¡¦s pleasures and treasures were dead to him, of his five senses everything that sight could bring him in his life, he was denied. How true this is of those who are still in the darkness of a spiritual night. The Bible tells us in, 1 Cor. 2:14: ¡§The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.¡¨
Illustration: I wish I could rerun a video for you of every man and woman I have ever shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with who have responded to me, ¡§Larry, I thank you for taking the time to share this with me but honestly, I JUST DON¡¦T SEE IT!¡¨ Of course you don¡¦t, YOUR SPIRITUALLY BLIND. It would be like Dr. Gailitis telling me, ¡§I have this machine that is worth thousands and thousands of dollars and I have been trained on this machine to use it to help restore correct vision to your eyesight and me saying, ¡§Well, I understand what you are saying but I just don¡¦t see it.¡¨ What we really should say is, ¡§I JUST DON¡¦T BELIEVE IT WILL WORK FOR ME!¡¨ So what are you going to do¡Klive with blurred vision or take a step of faith and trust what the Physician tells you as well as what others who have been to the Physician tell you now that they can see.
II. HIS OPERATION (9:10-11)
¡§How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded. [11] He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.¡¨
¡§And then I can see¡K¡¨ cried the blind man, after he had encountered the Lord Jesus. But how did it all happen? The simple answer is that it was a miracle, and miracles cannot be explained. This was something that the religious zealots were not able to accept. All that the man could do was to describe what had happened and leave the how to the Christ who had touched his eyes. As far as he was concerned, there was:
1) THE SAVIOR¡¦S RESPONSE (John 9:11)
¡§He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight¡¨
How simple the procedure and yet how profound the results! Whatever interpretations may be given of this act of the Master¡¦s, one thing is quite clear: the whole operation was not only real in itself; it was symbolic in demonstrating the reality of SPIRITUAL SIGHT THROUGH THE WORK OF CHRIST. THIS IS THE ONLY RECORDED OCCASION ON WHICH JESUS TOOK THE INITIATIVE IN RESTORING SIGHT. This fact makes the symbolic act even more significant: just as Jesus voluntarily mixed His own saliva with the earth and then anointed the eyes of the blind, so He voluntarily came from heaven and entered an earthly body, in order that through the mixing the Divine nature of Himself with human clay, the nature of our flesh, He might impart life and light to the dead souls of men. We read in Hebrews 2:14: ¡§Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil.¡¨
This was the divine operation which Jesus performed, in order that we might be delivered from the blinding power of the devil.
2) THE SINNER¡¦S RESPONSIBILITY (9:11)
¡§He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.¡¨
So said the man who had been blind. Having anointed him with the clay, the Lord Jesus had told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. Once again, the act is symbolic. The pool of Siloam, which John carefully tells us means ¡§sent,¡¨ was a specially provided pool of water for ceremonial drinking and cleansing. Jesus had already compared Himself to these very waters, when He cried out on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, ¡§On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.¡¨ (John 7:37).
So the blind man obeyed by faith when he was ¡§SENT¡¨ by the Words of the Savior and he went, he washed, and he received his sight. He accepted the divine operation initiated by the Savior and then by faith, this sinner responded in obedience to the instructions of the Great Physician. Guess what? He followed the doctor¡¦s orders and now he could see! Similarly, if you desire His light for your darkness and His sight for your blindness, you must, by faith, accept the responsibility to act on His directive.
Ą You must believe that when Jesus has already done His part of this surgery.
Ą He died at the cross; He finally and completely handled the problem of spiritual blindness.
Ą Then, having accepted the divine operation in simple faith, you must apply the human responsibility by accepting the cure for blindness which Jesus makes available through His risen life.
Ą By faith, you trust Him to be your Savior and Lord
Ą The results? Eternal Sight, Eternal Life!
III. THE EXPECTATION (9:5)
¡§While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.¡¨
No doubt this man had heard Him and had wondered what that meant; but now he knew. He had laser surgery of the soul and passed from darkness to dawn. As a result of the successful Laser Soul Surgery he now had¡K
1) THE TESTIMONY (John 9:25)
¡§He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!¡¨
How this man¡¦s eyes must have sparkled with joyous confidence, as he affirmed those words of certainty, ¡§One thing I know.¡¨ It is hard to argue with a man who refuses to budge from the facts of his own personal testimony, the facts of his case. He could not yet give an explanation of the character of the One who had opened his eyes; neither could he enter into the theological and philosophical arguments of those unbelieving Pharisees; but of one thing he was certain: a man called Jesus had opened his blind eyes. Christianity is propagated by the testimony of a changed life, not the argument of a skillful communicator. Controversy and conflict, of which many are so tragically very fond, has done little for the cause of Christ, but the testimony of a changed life will be used by God to change the world.
2) THE TRIALS (John 9:28)
¡§Then they hurled insults at him and said, ¡¥You are this fellow’s disciple!¡¦ We are disciples of Moses!¡¨
They insulted him. They also cast him out according to John 9:34. No one can claim the TRUTH OF THE TESTIMONY without at once encountering THE TRIALS unbelieving enemies of the Cross of Christ. So we read that eve his parents, friends and leaders distanced themselves from him and finally excommunicated him. To a Jew, such treatment constituted the greatest possible shame and disgrace. But in spite of all the trials related to his receiving sight, he remained constant and unshaken. In fact, he turned these very trials, persecutions and accusations of his enemies into a most impressive and challenging witness to the power of His Lord Jesus. So often people say that they would be Christians if only they were assured of the courage and power not to fail when the going was hard. To such people this blind man has a complete answer. His is the light, the strength and the constancy of a testimony of an individual that has been changed by the POWER OF CHRIST. This testimony shines even brighter when the clouds trials and trouble turn life dark.
3) THE TRIUMPH
¡§I WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE!¡¨ (John 9:25). It is thrilling to read through the story and see how the victory and triumph as the SPIRITUAL GROWTH, the perception and the discernment grows brighter and brighter, as the blind man is EQUIPPED with TRUTH and has strength to ACT ON THE TRUTH THAT HE HAS RECEIVED. Notice¡K
ƒÑ To start with, the Lord Jesus was ¡§a man that is called Jesus¡¨ (John 9:11).
ƒÑ Then the blind man declared that He was ¡§a prophet¡¨ (John 9:17).
ƒÑ Later he spoke of Christ as a ¡§man¡Kof God¡¨ (John 9:33).
ƒÑ Finally, he reached that moving climax when he met the Savior face to face and cried, ¡§Lord, I believe,¡¨ and worshiped Him (John 9:38).
Eye specialists tell us that after certain operations have been performed on the eyes, it is the procedure to bandage the eyes heavily, and then remove one bandage at a time, as the eyes gain the strength for increased light. In a similar way, Christ equips us and leads all those who come to Him for spiritual sight. As we walk in obedience to His revealed Truth so He increases the light of clarity and our understanding.
You may be asking yourself today this question¡K¡§But suppose I do not confess my blindness in sin?¡¨ The answer is that such an attitude is foolish but also fatal. Jesus said in John 9:39: ¡§¡KFor judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.¡¨
What serious and damning words! May the Lord Jesus never have to say to you what He addressed to those unbelieving and proud Pharisees: ¡§Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.¡¨ (John 9:41).
CONCLUSION
To say that you see, when you are in spiritual darkness, is to seal your eternal destiny in sin. May God save you from such a foolish end! Rather, may you come to Christ now and take advantage of His divine operation, and then by faith apply the human responsibility of trusting in the spiritual sight and light that He alone can give. It is time today that your darkness is turned to dawn, and your testimony will be from this day throughout eternity can be: ¡§Once I was blind, but now I can see; The Light of the world is Jesus and He has set me free.¡¨
Illustration:
A retired Baptist pastor and missionary, tells of his mother, a Christian woman who feel victim to Alzheimer¡¦s and began to lose her memory. She had once known much of the Bible by heart. Eventually only one precious verse stayed with her. ¡¥I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I committed unto him against that day.¡¦ By and by part of that slipped its hold, and she would quietly repeat, ¡¥That which I have committed unto him.¡¦ At last, as she hovered on the borderline between this world and Heaven, her son noticed her lips moving. They bent down and heard her repeating over and over again to herself the one word of the text, ¡¥Him, Him, Him.¡¦ She had lost the whole Bible, except for one word. But in reality, she had the whole Bible in that one word¡KHIM!¡¨
